Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-05-18

| mall winch Drought NE the money ana
grateful letter in which Mr.. Davies
acknowledged my opportune assistance
TO him also brought me a check for a
much larger amount than had expect
ed from the publishers of the magazine
for which my story had appeared.
Time went by, and soon Mr.. Davies
and the episode i'll which he had figured
completely passed out of my mind.
The evening of the same day that Mr..
Davies had called upon me, L was pres
ent at bright and delightful party
given by my friends, the Dalstons.
They had been induced to come to
| Winnipeg from Hamilton during the
famous ''boom," of which many in the
eastern provinces have sufficiently
| lively recollection. They had been in
time to share in the phenominal and
unnatural prosperity of the period of
imitation, but when the terrible reaction
set in, and prices went down and down
every day, they had suffered severely
However they were CHEEKY, wholesome
minded people, who faced their troub' e
brayely. At the same time of which |
1
extent of the collapse was not under
stood. Mr.. Dalston was telling me how
confident lie was that good harvest
would cause trade TO revive, and that
the country would speedily recover. l
was expressing 4 similar conviction.
though could not pin my faith to the
results of one season, when my atten-
tion was taken bya remarkable face,
which did not remember ever having
cen before in the society of the city.
The face itself was perfectly familiar
to me; indeed. it must be known to a
great many Others, as art has made it
live already for more than 100 years,
and will 60 near TO making it immortal.
In the celebrated gallery Of Dresden,
there you will see to-day that beautiful
| face. The picture has hung there for a
century, and it shows no signs of fading
out. OF course, the woman who sat
| for that wonderful portrait has been
dead these many long years; she had
her lovers; broke some of their hearts,
l dare say, and had her say like the rest
of us; but her face has not periShed-
there it is on the canvas. As long as
the colors last it will never cease to be a
striking, and to most people, charm
| ing picture. / for one, had not forgot
ten it, and here, in Winnipeg of all
places in the world, was the same face!
i do not need l. tell you that it was
not quite the same face; for, as | said,
the woman..of the Dresden painting died
! long ago. But it was a face of a rare
type; and the girl in my friends draw
ing-room reproduced it exactly. Now
no words of mine can do as much-cer-
tainly not in q few touches. This Is
where the painters have the advantage
of us. For when a really great artist
gives the world a portrait he makes
! features and expression and soul (lf l
may use the world together so as to tell
| a harmonious tale that the whole man
stands before US. So when | say that
/ the girls face was oval, the forehead OF
| that kird which is best suited by hav
! ing the hair brushed back from it and
| then massed above it, with perhaps
tiny curl escaping at either side, the eye
brOws arched high above the soft hazel
ewes, the nose neither Greek nor Ro-
man, but happy mixture of both, the
mouth small and firm and shaped like
the very bow of Cupid, the cheeks
| rounded and tinted with warm color, l
cannot but feel that I have given a
somewhat lifelesS catalogue of certain
details, and not complete presentment.
| How can describe the charm of tits
grace; its yivacity, the look of wonder,
| struggling with humor in the eyes? Yet
YOU can see all these and much more at
a glance in the Dresden picture.
The extraordinary resemblance was
helped even by the way in which the
girl was dressed. The white column of
her neck was exposed save where row
of amber beads partly hid it; the square
bodice she wore was of a dark rich
material, the skirt of the same, but
slashed across with a broad band OF
lace.
1t was almost impossible to believe
she had stepped out of that century-old
painting.
An elderly gentleman was talking to
her-perhaps paying her some pretty
compliment, for she blushed slightly as
she glanced at him with a smile. L
asked to be introduced, and found she
was interesting and agreeable as could
be wished. She was enthusiastic about
| Canada. She told me she was new
conner to Winnipeg indeed, to the Do
minion. Perhaps | might laugh at her,
but she felt she must come out to the
northwest. She did not know what it
was. but she was sure she had mission
out here. There were plenty OF fine
Young fellows at the DalSton's that
evening, and L wondered if her mis-
sion'' was in the room. She looked
forward with pleasure to the winter.
| OF course it was cold, very cold; but the
skating and the tobogganlng and the
snow-shoeing. The sleighlng - how
| splendid it must be to glide along over
mile upon mile of smooth snow, with
the bells tinkling in the keen, clear air.
She was delighted with her Canadian
friends; the girls were so bright and
iolly. the men such good fun. And on
She prattled lin a way that was alto
gether very winning. was compelled
to leave the party early, and though l
did not see my Dresden face in Winni-
peg again, I did not forget 1t,
Two wears later | was meditating a
holiday trip. 1t was the middle OF sum-
mer. and L had been hard at work for
many a month and needed some change.
The question was, where to go? Should
| betake myself to Ontario-the charm
ing voyage across the lakes i'll one OF the
delightful G.. L. Il. boats was very
tempting. There was the United States,
a tremendously wide field; what point
should | make for? While | thus hesi-
tated events took the trouble OF coming
to a decision out of my hands.
One morning a letter came with the
Calgary stamp on the envelope, and the
handwriting was quite unknown to me.
This was what was said in it:
Dear Mr.. Stephenson: Perhaps you
have forgotten me, but shall always
remember your kindness to me on a
certain occasion. You were good
enough to lend me $40, though L was a
complete stranger without any claim